The smell of a charcoal fire summons pleasant memories of summertime, friends and family. The odors and inconvenience associated with starting that fire however are not so pleasant. Currently, charcoal fire starters available to consumers are combustible solutions that include the chemical naphtha. Naphtha is a petroleum by-product. Although naphtha-containing charcoal fire starters are advertized as being odorless, the chemical has a distinct aroma. Charcoal fires started by naphtha products are odorless only after the chemical burns away and the charcoal is ignited. The strong odor of naphtha-containing products make them inconvenient for use indoors. Additionally, naphtha has a flash point of 107.degree. F. The chemical burns very quickly, often too quickly to ignite the coals making it necessary to reapply the starter. Further, the low flash point of the chemical could result in flash-back or flare-up if inadvertently added to burning coals.
Charcoal fire starters that do not contain naphtha have been described. They include gelled alcohols (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,759,674 and 4,365,971). Gelled alcohols are semi-solid materials of fast burning alcohol that provide a clean, non-sooty flame. Gelled alcohols however sometimes liquify while burning resulting in the starter running off the coals which they are intended to ignite. Additionally, gelled alcohols often burn with non-luminous flames increasing the possibility of injury to the cook. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,436,525 and 4,084,939 address these problems by providing a solid alcohol gel which retains its shape upon burning and providing an encapsulated gelled alcohol which cracks audibly alerting the cook of a burning flame. Gelled alcohols are advantageous in that they generate less odor than naphtha containing products; however, they do not offer the convenience of a liquid fire starter. U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,802 describes a fire starter which is a liquid and is an oil-in-water emulsion. Other charcoal fire starters that have been described include a solid starter of cellulose materials impregnated by waxes and oils (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,485,584 and 3,395,003). These materials however leave a residue and ash in the grill from the solid matrix.
As can be understood from the above, there remains a need for a liquid charcoal fire starter that is odorless, easy to use, safe and effective.